


Sad to Say, I'm Your Bad Luck Charm

by alleycat42



Category: RWBY
Genre: AU, Angst, Character Death, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, One Shot, Remembrance, moving forward
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-13
Updated: 2018-04-13
Packaged: 2019-04-22 13:11:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14309382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alleycat42/pseuds/alleycat42
Summary: Things don't go all that well for Qrow these days...and it seems this incident is no different





	Sad to Say, I'm Your Bad Luck Charm

**Author's Note:**

> Heyooo!
> 
> Back again with that RWBY angst
> 
> (I swear I'll do other things this is just at the ready)
> 
> Sooo yet another angst filled one shot, this time dealing with a rusty old Qrow
> 
> This one was also created because of my discord chat and a certain Cheetah who is fixated on Qrow 
> 
> Funny enough this is getting uploaded on Friday the 13th...poor Qrow
> 
> Anyway I hope you enjoy and comments and critiques are always welcome!

The sun came fast that morning. Ruby blinked her eyes open, still processing everything Qrow had shared with them the night before. Magic? Maidens? It was still hard to believe. But, it had come from her uncle and he hadn’t ever let her down before. He may hold back a lot of information, but Ruby knew deep down he was only looking out for her. He was still trying to protect the innocence little Rose Petal who would cling to his leg and beg for another heroic story. 

Ruby smiled to herself slightly at the thought. She began to sit up in her sleeping bag as the rest of team RNJR began to stir. She needed to check on Qrow. After the fight with Tyrion, he had taken a nasty hit across the stomach. He promised he was fine and after their much needed talk, went for a walk to clear his head. 

A chilling sound struck her ears as her eyes adjusted to the light. It was a low, shallow cough that came from where her uncle had fallen asleep that night. Rising quickly from her spot, she rushed over to Qrow, who was still sporting that dreadful cough.

“Uncle Qrow!” Reaching his side Ruby looked down on her uncle. He was grasping his side, his hand covering his mouth as he let out yet another cough. When it dropped, Ruby paled. A purple like substance was mixed together from the bile that came from his chest with each passing cough. He was pale, the wound on he side infected and the same color that covered his hand. His eyes were glazed over and his breathing was short and raspy. He was poisoned. 

“Qrow, can you hear me?! Hold on, we..we..we will get you the nearest town.” Turning to Jaune, she looked for some sort of reassurance in her words. But Jaune only shook his head. Ren didn’t take his eyes off of Qrow and Nora turned away, but not fast enough to not let Ruby see her tears. 

“Ruby..” Jaune started, but she wasn’t having it. She grabbed onto her uncles hand, hoping to comfort him and herself in the process. “You’re going to be okay Qrow, I promise..I will figure something out.”

“Kiddo, stop.” Ruby’s heart dropped at his words. He looked up at her and gave a small crooked smirk. “Looks like that scorpion got the best of this dusty old crow.” He started to cough violently. “I know when to take a loss.”

“No..don’t! You are okay, everything will be fine. Jaune, start packing up we are leaving immediately!” Ruby started to rise but was stopped by a shaky hand.

“Ruby, please. I need to talk with you.” Qrow closed his eyes. He could feel the poison moving through his body. It was searing, slow pain that covered every inch of his body. It was only a matter of time before it fully consumed his heart. But first, he had some things to say. Ruby sat back down, still clutching onto her uncle’s hand. Her mind was racing with what she could do in order to save him. There had to be a way! “Qrow…”

“You know, you have turned into quite the huntress. You’ve been through so much in such a little time. Ha, I would say you are on par with me. But don’t start my vice of drinking, isn’t a good look on you.” Another coughing fit hit him. He refused to leave her till he got this off his chest. Her eyes fixed on him, Qrow continued.

“You were always running around as a kid, fighting imaginary beowolves. Kicking butt and taking names. You knew exactly what you would do in this hellish world, and nothing ever stopped you. You are so much like Summer.”

She froze. It was so very rare that Qrow would bring up her late mother. It was a touchy subject for everyone in the family, and they knew it. If he was bringing her up now then… “Qrow, stop. Please. Le...Let’s get going..” His eyes were focused on her, but she felt as though he was looking straight through her. She could feel tears threatening to shed. She swallowed, refusing as her uncle continued on.

“Summer had been just as ambitious when I met her at Beacon. She was so optimistic and dead set on helping all those who couldn’t help themselves. She was a wonderful leader, friend, warrior, mother. She did it all.” Qrow couldn’t hold it back anymore as memories of the young girl he had met all those years ago flooded his mind. Tears fell down his cheeks. His chest was heavy and he knew. “Ruby, you are a spitting image of her. In every way. But you are still your own person. You have so much in front of you, don’t ever stop moving forward.” His breathing slowed even more, his eyes getting heavy. “I know, even after everything, Summer would be so incredibly proud of you. I know I am.” 

She couldn’t hold it. Ruby began to sob at her uncle’s words. She held his hand to her face, unable to look him in the eye. She didn’t want to lose anyone else...why did she kept losing the people she loved? Why wasn’t she strong enough to save them?! She felt a light squeeze in her hand. Looking up, her eyes turning red from the tears, her uncle stared right at her. A small smile was on his lips. “Don’t you dare blame yourself. This was just a stroke of bad luck.” With a sigh, he muttered. “I love you, Rose Petal.”

His grip loosened and his body sagged; the slow, raspy breathing that had filled the air was now met with silence. She wailed. She felt arms around her, but she wasn’t sure as to whom exactly clung to her. Her vision was blurred by tears. Her head was fuzzy and her body numb. She didn’t want to let go. She could still save him, couldn’t she? “Uncle Qrow….please,” Ruby weeped. “Come back…”

*****  
Three months came and passed. Team RNJR had met back up with the rest of team RWBY not too long after Qrow’s passing. Ruby had to break the news to Yang and needless to say, the two sisters held each other as one began to grieve and the other continued. They promised one another to keep moving forward, and in turn, did the same with their teammates. The fight with Salem was still going strong, but progress had been made on their end. Oz had come back, oddly as a young farm boy named Oscar. An obstacle that had hit them was the appearance of Raven. When she questioned her younger brother’s location, Ruby hung her head as Yang clued her mother in. For a moment, a flash of pain and sadness crossed her face, but was quickly erased as the battle ensued. After securing Haven and the Spring relic, they made the decision to stop by the grave Ruby and the others had made for Qrow.

They found an open field that would work perfectly for the burial site. It was encased by trees and at the right time of the day, the sun shone brightly down on her dear uncle’s grave. And here she stood once more. The gravestone read:  
Qrow Branwen  
“And the crow once called the raven black…”

Yang had already come and paid her respects. Ruby looked at her sister and slightly nodded, indicating she would catch up in just a moment. She pulled her hood off her head and took in the sights around her, feeling as the sun warmed her skin. Sighing, she looked back to the grave. 

“Hey Uncle Qrow. It’s been a little while. We have, uh done a lot since the last time we spoke. Oz is back and weirdly enough, he is in another body. Yang has this really cool robot arm too. It was so good seeing her and Weiss again.” She paused for a moment. “We made it to Haven; turns out we got there just in time. The White Fang planned an attack that would’ve destroyed the school. Luckily Blake showed up and helped to stop that from happening.. We even went head to head with some of Salem’s workers. So much happened…”. 

She kicked the ground, looking for just any sort of movement. She took a breath. “I miss you, Qrow. I..I am sorry I couldn’t do more to save you.” Tears formed in her eyes and started to trail down her face. His words rang in her head on how not to blame herself. It was so hard; she felt the responsibility was hers and hers alone. But she knew she couldn’t change it and wouldn’t stand around doing nothing. The wound of his death was still strong, but she wiped her tears away and stood tall. “We are headed to Atlas next. Oz said we needed to get to the relic there. Weiss isn’t too excited though. But, I promise, I...I will make you proud. I love you, Qrow.” 

With a faint smile, she turned around and started to walk off. She thought she heard the flapping of wings behind her, so she turned back around and let out a small gasp. In front of her, she saw her Uncle standing with his hands in his pockets and a small smile on his face. Next to him stood a shorter hooded figure. Ruby couldn’t see her whole face, but she caught a smile under the hood. The two looked at one another before turning around and fading away. Ruby smiled, tears falling down her face.

“Ruby? Come on, we have to get going!” Yang called out to her, surely concerned about her baby sister.

“I’m coming!” Ruby spun on her heel and raced back to her teammates, determined to keep moving forward. A black feather fell onto the gravestone, as a final goodbye.


End file.
